Traditional vacuum cleaner bags are produced from specific types of cellulose paper or combined laminates of cellulose paper and polypropylene meltblown nonwoven media as well as a one hundred percent (100%) synthetic fiber products that include spunbond, nonwoven fibers and meltblown, nonwoven fibers. However, customers are demanding more of their vacuum cleaner technology and desire much higher levels of filtration so that dust and other particulate matter are not picked-up by the vacuum cleaner and then transferred into the air right through the standard, low efficiency, vacuum cleaner bag under the high pressure suction of the vacuum cleaner. With this traditional vacuum cleaner bag technology, although the visible dirt and debris will no longer be present on the carpeting, the fine dust and particles will be projected into the surrounding atmosphere of the room and potentially inhaled by the occupants. For the significant portion of the population that is plagued by allergies, this can be especially problematic. This projected dust and debris will eventually settle, which will then require dusting or additionally vacuuming for removal. With the low efficiency rating present for a standard vacuum cleaner bag, a significant portion of the dust and debris is constantly being recirculated during each operation of the vacuum cleaner.
Therefore, the trend is for consumers to utilize a HEPA rated bagless cleaner that uses dirt cup technology. HEPA filtration performance is typically achieved by utilizing a primary cleaning cartridge or by a secondary exhaust. HEPA is an acronym that stands for: “High Efficiency Particulate Air.” One method for determining the HEPA rating is by utilizing Test Method IES-RP-CC021.1, which was developed by the Institute of Environmental Sciences. This test method defines HEPA as 99.97% efficiency when tested with a challenge dust or aerosol that are made from particles that are 0.3 micron (11.81 microinches) in diameter. Furthermore, the airflow in which the challenge aerosol is presented to the media is at 5.33 cm./sec. (10.55 ft./min.). Testing is also performed at an increased airflow rate of 8.54 cm./sec. (16.8 ft./min.), which is typical of most vacuum cleaners. The testing of flat sheet material may be performed with a Dioctyl Phthalate (DOP) aerosol on a TSI® 8160 testing device. TSI® is a federally registered trademark of TSI Incorporated, having a mailing address at P.O. Box 64394, St. Paul, Minn. 55164-0394.
There are literally millions of vacuum cleaners on the market that require the use of a vacuum cleaner bag. Although the filtration of standard cellulose paper bags has improved with the combination of a second layer of electro-statically charged or treated meltblown fiber, which increases the efficiency rating from fifteen percent (15%) to thirty-five percent (35%) to around eighty percent (80%) to eighty-five percent (85%), this meltblown fiber bag media still falls far short of HEPA filtration status.
The present invention is directed to overcoming one or more of the problems set forth above.